Today’s guest post is from Hannah Jones, who set up her own eBay shop last year and is about to teach others to do the same in her 31 Days 2 an Online Retail Business course.
You may be thinking I’m nuts to post an article about this course in the same week that I launched my own e-book Start your own online shop, but I’m not! Start Your Own Online Shop is a concise ‘how to’ guide and 31 Days 2 is a much more in depth course, so I think the two could complement each other nicely. Plus 31 Days 2 focuses in on the online marketplaces (eBay, Etsy, Amazon) whereas my ebook also looks at setting up your own website.
Over to you, Hannah!
Whether you’re still looking for the business venture which will make your family more comfortable, or thinking about ways to supplement your income to make sure you always have that extra bit of money, it’s worth considering starting an online business selling on websites like eBay, Amazon, and Etsy. I love selling online, and I could go on for days about all of the things I love about it. But, for the sake of keeping Helen’s blog readable, here are four of the big reasons why you should start an online retail business today!
1. It can be whatever you want it to be
You can put as much or as little effort into selling online as you like. Spend just an hour per week on buying, listing, and posting items if you like – websites like eBay do all of the work for you, including attracting customers to your products!
Or you could invest a lot of time into your business, build it into a brand, and become an international selling machine! The choice is in your hands, and you can easily expand or scale back your business month by month.
2. It’s easy
I mean it, so I’ll say it again: starting an online business is easy. Most people get put off by the big questions that come up in the beginning, but once you start working through them there’s really no question too big. Here are some examples:
What shall I sell? It doesn’t matter! There are 875 million people in the world who regularly shop online, you only have to find something that a handful of those people are interested in, which not too many other people are selling, and your business will boom. It’s really not as difficult as it sounds.
Where will I buy stock from? There are plenty of ways to find whatever you decide to sell, at prices low enough to give you a healthy profit. Do an internet search, look out for bargains at car boot sales and on eBay, and get to know the big suppliers in your industry.
I get most of my stock from high street stores – their cost prices are so low they’re able to undercut most suppliers anyway, so when they have a sale on I stock up with enough to keep me going until the next one!
3. An online business fits around your life
I don’t know of another business that requires so little effort for so much reward. There are no time restrictions on when you can do your tasks, so you could do everything you have to while your child is napping, while they’re at school, or as soon as they’re in bed at night!
Take Lesley, she has two businesses which each have their own website plus an eBay and Amazon store. But she also has three young boys – so during the holidays, she scales back her listings, extends her delivery times, and concentrates on the kids, knowing her customers will still be there when the boys are back at school.
An online business is not a full time job – my favourite thing about my job is being able to take a long mid-day soak while the house is nice and quiet. A quiet, relaxing bath is quite the luxury in our house, and better still, I know I’m making money while I’m lying there!
4. Guaranteed profits!
How did anyone work up the courage to start a business back in the days when you had to fork out for shop, stock, electricity, and fittings, then market your business and keep your fingers crossed, before you made a penny? I’m not brave enough to take that risk – and luckily, I didn’t have to be to start my online business!
Selling online has ridiculously low costs, and it’s pretty simple to work out which products will make you money before you buy them. Then simply buy a few at first to test the market, and you will never own stock which you can’t sell. That makes selling online a risk free investment.
So an easy, flexible, risk free venture which you are guaranteed to make money from…what are you waiting for?!
Feel inspired to start earning your own money with an online business? You can do it in just 31 Days! Hannah and Lesley are the authors of 31Days2…an Online Retail business – a brand new guide to help people like you earn money online without the hassle of setting up your own website. Check it out at www.31days2.com.